Our teen book spotlight this week is focused on graphic novels!!! Graphic novels are incredibly visual stories that can feature pretty much anything fiction and nonfiction. Done in the style of comic books, there is a huge variety of choices; literally something for everyone so even if you have never read one before, you will definitely be able to find something. For our talk this week, we have a great selection of nonfiction, fantasy, historical, humor, and realistic to get you started. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yagreatgraphicnovels as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new teen book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
The Great Gatsby by K. Woodman-Maynard--Follows the adventures of Jay Gatsby as he tries to win back the woman he loved and lost. Presents a classic portrait of the Jazz Age and the life of the wealthy in Long Island, New York.
Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle--Selina Kyle is fifteen, goes to school with none other than the rich boy Bruce Wayne, and is fiercer than she knows. She has put up with her mother's bad boyfriends, but the latest, Dernell, passes the line in cruelty, forcing Selina to the decision that if Dernell won't leave the house, she will.
Friend with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks--Having been homeschooled her entire life, Maggie is understandably nervous when she begins her first day of public high school. Her older brothers are little help – though loving, they mostly leave her to find her way on her own. Fortunately, Maggie finds companionship in Mohawk-sporting Lucy and her younger (and also Mohawked) brother Alistair. Things at first appear to be progressing smoothly, but complications ensue when Maggie realizes Alistair has a negative history with her oldest brother, Daniel. Even worse, a ghost that Maggie has always been able to see in the local graveyard begins swooping into her home and right up to her face.
In Real Life by Cory Doctorow--Arizona high schooler Anda struggles with feeling powerless and unattractive, but when she accepts an invitation to join the Coarsegold MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), Anda gains confidence from her avatar's accomplishments. She befriends Raymond, a fellow player from China, who flouts the game's rules by working as a “gold farmer” selling in-game resources for cash to alleviate his real-life poverty. As Anda becomes more involved with Raymond, she starts to develop an understanding of the issues he is facing, including unfair labor conditions, but her suggestion that he confront injustices at work has unexpected consequences. This heartfelt graphic novel explores how actions taken in the gaming world have repercussions in real life.
Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge--After her parents' death, 16-year-old Willhemena “Will” Huckstep moves in with her aunt and spends her free time helping her aunt's antique shop by making lamps. For the most part, it's business as usual, but a sudden summer storm disrupts power in their small community, plunging them into an extended darkness. In addition to forcing everyone to cope with the loss of their electronic tools, the darkness affects Will personally, awakening in her fears that she would rather leave forgotten. But as she gradually confronts the dark with close friends never far away, Will begins to overcome her fears and is able to finally face her past, leaving her future all the brighter.
Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm--Uses a graphic novel format to chronicle the Manhattan Project, the scientific endeavor to create the first nuclear bomb. Also reveals how these weapons were used in World War II and the impact they had on humanity's destructive capabilities.